| Short Title: | Croatian Citizenship Act |
| Legislature: | Parliament of Croatia |
| Long Title: | An Act relating to Croatian citizenship |
| Enacted By: | Government of Croatia |
| Status: | current |
The Croatian nationality law dates back from June 26, 1991, with amendments on May 8, 1992, October 28, 2011, and January 1, 2020, and an interpretation of the Constitutional Court in 1993.[1] It is based upon the Constitution of Croatia (Chapter II, articles 9 and 10). It is mainly based on jus sanguinis.
Croatian citizenship can be acquired in the following ways:
Under Article 4 of the Law on Croatian Citizenship, a child acquires Croatian citizenship by origin:
Croatian citizenship may also be acquired by a mix of descent and registration, for a child born abroad, one of whose parents is a Croatian citizen at the moment of the child's birth,"if the child is registered for Croatian citizenship by 21 years of age at a competentauthority of the Republic of Croatia abroad or in the Republic of Croatia, or if he settles in the Republic of Croatia", or if the child would not otherwise acquire any citizenship.
It is also possible for emigrants and their descendants (and their spouses) to claim Croatian citizenship under Article 11. An emigrant and his or her descendants can acquire Croatian citizenship by naturalization. They do not have to:
However, Article 11 does not generally apply to migrants who are citizens of other countries and territories of the former Yugoslavia.[2]
Under Article 8 of the Croatian Citizenship Act, a foreigner can acquire Croatian citizenship by naturalisation if he or she has submitted a request and fulfils the following requirements:
Croatia does not require its citizens to renounce Croatian citizenship when acquiring a new citizenship.
The same cannot be said though, for the reverse. Under Article 8 of the Law on Croatian Citizenship, naturalisation into Croatian citizenship requires renunciation of the previous country's citizenship, where allowed by the other country. However, this does not apply in a number of situations, including descendants of Croatian emigrants, national interest of Croatia, and former Croatians who renounced Croatian citizenship to practice a profession in another country.
Because Croatia forms part of the European Union, Croatian citizens are also citizens of the European Union under European Union law and thus enjoy rights of free movement and have the right to vote in elections for the European Parliament.[3] When in a non-EU country where there is no Croatian embassy, Croatian citizens have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present in that country.[4] [5] Croatian citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.[6]
See main article: Visa requirements for Croatian citizens. Visa requirements for Croatian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Croatia. In 2018, Croatian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 156 countries and territories, ranking the Croatian passport 20th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley visa restrictions index.[7]
In 2017, the Croatian nationality is ranked twenty-eighth in the Nationality Index (QNI). This index differs from the Visa Restrictions Index, which focuses on external factors including travel freedom. The QNI considers, in addition to travel freedom, on internal factors such as peace & stability, economic strength, and human development as well.[8]